Aston Villa will be focusing on their attempts to stay in the Premier League, but they could appear to have a signing on the way too.
With the Premier League set to return this week, Villa will kick off the resumption of the season with a home game against Sheffield United on Wednesday.
Dean Smith’s side will be fighting to stay up, but fans will now be learning of a signing that could make an impact years down the line.
Many Villa supporters won’t remember the name Rory Hale. The 23-year-old is currently featuring in Northern Ireland, where he is playing for Crusaders.
The Irish midfielder spent time in the Villa youth ranks between 2015 and 2017, before heading to Ireland with Galway United and Derry City, then onto Crusaders.
This weekend, Hale took to Twitter to break a piece of Aston Villa transfer news. Hale noted that he was training with Glentoran youngster Caolan McBride in order to build up his fitness.

Hale added that McBride is signing a three-year deal with Villa next month, meaning he is following in Hale’s footsteps by heading to Villa Park as a youngster.
McBride, 17, has allegedly been on Villa’s radar for some time. Glentoran describe him as a ‘creative, classy central midfield player’, and having already played first-team football in Northern Ireland, Villa will hope he can take the next step in England.

Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
